In his
recent translation and commentary on the book of Job, Michael L. Brown rendered
Job 19:26-27 (a well-known text LDS and others use to show Job did know of the future bodily resurrection of the dead) thusly:
And after my skin [is gone]—it has been
flayed like this—then in my flesh I will see God—whom I, yes I, will see for
myself, and my eyes will see him, and not as a stranger. How my inmost being
(Lit., “my kidneys) pines away in my chest!
Commenting
on this passage, Brown wrote:
19:26–27—For Job, seeing God is part and parcel of being vindicated by God, and
so, on that final day when Job expects his redeemer to arise on his behalf, he
is confident that he will see him—literally (and note 42:5, with “see” and
“eye”!). But will this happen in the body or outside the body? The Hebrew in
these verses is very difficult.
The KJV renders v. 26a with, “And though after my skin worms destroy this body,” the translators having to supply “worms” and “body” to
explain the text, while the NKJV renders, “And after my skin is destroyed, this
I know.” The NJPS relocates “this,”
translating, “This, after my skin will have been peeled off,” but the ESV,
along with the NRSV, renders with, “And after my skin has been thus destroyed.”
My understanding of the Hebrew is closer to ESV and NRSV, with v. 26b
emphasizing that he does expect a
future face to face encounter with God his redeemer. So, Job declares that
after his skin has been utterly destroyed, the day will come when in his flesh—hence, in the body and
resurrected—he will see God.
In v. 27, he expresses this in the most
personal terms possible: whom I, yes I, will see for myself, and
my eyes will see him. Significantly,
at that time, Job will not do this as a zar,
“a stranger, alien, or outsider”—despite being treated as one by his family,
friends, and even servants (see above, vv. 13–17; his very breath had become zarah, “strange,” thus offensive, to his
own wife). But on that last day everything will be different. Job will see God,
his defender, with his very own eyes. His God will not disown him as a
stranger. Rather, he will vindicate him as a kinsman redeemer. The very thought
of this causes Job’s innermost being (lit., “kidneys,” defined here by BDB as
the “seat of emotion and affection”; cf. Prov 23:16; Ps 16:7; 73:21) to pine
away within him, with a play on words between kalu, “pine away,” and kilyotay,
“kidneys.” (Michael L. Brown, Job: The Faith to Challenge God--A New Translation and Commentary
[Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Academic, 2019], 152)
Elsewhere,
in an exegetical essay on vv.26-27, Brown notes:
We turn now to verses 26–27. For Job, seeing
God is part and parcel of being vindicated by God, and so, on that final day
when Job expects his redeemer to arise on his behalf, he is confident that he
will see him—literally (cf. 42:5, with “see” and “eye”!). But will this happen
in the body or outside the body?
Verse 26 begins with “after my skin,”
followed by the unexpected third person plural of n-k-p (Piel), “to peel off, flay,” and “this,” leading the KJV to
render, “And though after my skin worms destroy this body,” with the translators supplying “worms” to explain the plural
form and “body” to explain the referent of “this.” The NKJV renders, “And after
my skin is destroyed, this I know,”
again pointing to the textual difficulty in v. 26a (Gray rightly notes that “v.
26a MT [Masoretic Text] bristles with problems”). The NJPS relocates “this,”
translating, “This, after my skin will have been peeled off,” but the ESV,
along with the NRSV, renders with, “And after my skin has been thus destroyed”
(cf. NET, NIV, CSB for similar renderings), understanding zoʾt as an adverbial accusative (“thus”; cf. Seow) and with either
the friends as subject of the plural verb or as a generic plural (“they”).
Others understand n-k-p in the sense
of “mark,” as in Gordis’s “Deep in my skin this has been marked” (cf. Hakham’s,
“But this has been cut under my skin”).
Most interpreters read verses 26b–27 as the
logical continuation of 25–26a, but Newsom and others find this unlikely, since
the text would either speak of Job being resurrected to see God in the future
or “as a disembodied shade will be granted a special vision of his vindication
by God (NRSV),” neither of which is “persuasive.” Instead, Newsom follows
Clines (anticipated by Habel; she is apparently unaware of the NJPS’s apposite
rendering) and translates, “I know that my defender lives, and that at the last
he will arise upon the earth—after my skin has been stripped off! But I would
see God from my flesh, whom I would see for myself; my eyes would see, and not a
stranger.” Compare this with the NJPS’s “But I know that my Vindicator lives;
In the end He will testify on earth—This, after my skin will have been peeled
off. But I would behold God while still in my flesh, I myself, not another,
would behold Him; Would see with my own eyes: My heart pines within me.”
With due respect to these arguments, however,
it seems somewhat forced to read verse 26a as the culmination of 25 especially
with the opening vav of 26a; instead,
verses 25–27 should be read as a cohesive whole, as per most ancient and modern
versions; see also Driver-Gray; Dhorme; Gordis; Tur-Sinai; Weiser; Pope;
Fohrer; Hakham; Hartley; Longman; Gray; and Seow. But what is the meaning of mibbesari in 26b? Is it “from my flesh”
(meaning, “in my flesh”; cf. KJV; NKJV; ESV; NET; CSB; NRSV; NJPS, all with
“in”) or “without my flesh” (cf. CJB; Pope; Seow; Longman has “out of”; cf.
Eisemann)?
If the Hebrew means “from my flesh,” Job is
speaking of a future resurrection (so, most modern versions), meaning, “Even
though my skin is presently peeling away, on that last day, I will be
resurrected,” which would then be the most decisive declaration of resurrection
in the book; if the latter, he is saying, “Yes, my body may be no more, but I
will see God,” which would be a unique statement of a disembodied future state.
As problematic, though, as Job’s statement of faith is (on either reading),
given Job’s words elsewhere in the book (see Clines especially), it is clear
that he does expect this future face
to face encounter with God his redeemer.
I see no compelling reason to follow NJPS
(and cf. the interpretations of Habel, Newsom, and Clines, just cited) and its
rendering of 26b: “But I would behold God while still in my flesh.” To the
contrary, these three verses (vv. 25–27) affirm in the strongest terms Job’s
fervent, future expectation, not his current, desperate desire. Moreover, if
these verses were not so theologically problematic (in light of Job’s pessimism
regarding a future hope expressed elsewhere in the book), they would be fairly
straightforward exegetically, barring some translation difficulties, especially
in verse 26a. It is best, then, to exegete the text in the most natural
possible way, letting the theological chips fall where they may. Is not Job
filled with apparent contradictions? And, as stated above, don’t Job’s words
reflect dramatic mood shifts and widely varying theological sentiments?
So, Job declares that after his skin has been
utterly destroyed, the day will come when from his flesh—hence, in the body and
resurrected—he will see (kh-z-h) God
(ʾeloah). In verse 27, Job expresses
this in the most personal terms possible: Whom, I, yes, I will see for myself; my eyes will see him (my translation). Significantly, at that time,
Job will not do this as a zar, “a
stranger, alien, or outsider”—despite being treated as one by his family,
friends, and even servants (see above, vv. 13–17; his very breath had become zarah, “strange,” thus offensive, to his
own wife). But on that last day everything will be different. Job will see God,
his defender, with his very own eyes. His God will not disown him as a
stranger. Rather, he will vindicate him as a kinsman redeemer. The very thought
of this causes Job’s innermost being (lit., “kidneys,” defined here by BDB as
the “seat of emotion and affection”; cf. Prov 23:16; Ps 16:7; 73:21) to pine
away within him, with a play on words between kalu, pine away, kilyotay,
kidneys.
Finally, here are the renderings of the
principle ancient versions to verses 25–27:
LXX (Septuagint): For I know that an eternal one exists, one
who is about to free me upon the earth, to raise up my skin, which endures
these things. For by the Lord these things were fulfilled in me, of which I
myself am aware, which my eye has seen and not another. And all things have
been accomplished through me in my bosom.
Aramaic Targum: As for me, I know that my redeemer lives,
and after this his redemption will
stand upon the dust. And this will be after my skin has swollen, and from my
flesh I will see God, whom I myself see and my eyes behold, and not a stranger;
my inmost being faints within me.
Syriac Peshitta: I know that my Savior lives, and that at the
end he will reveal himself on the earth. Although devouring worms have covered
my skin and my flesh, yet if my eyes shall see God, then my heart also will see
the light; but now my body is consumed (following the Lamsa translation).
Latin Vulgate: For I know that my Redeemer liveth, and in
the last day I shall rise out of the earth. And I shall be clothed again with
my skin, and in my flesh I shall see my God. Whom I myself shall see, and my
eyes shall behold, and not another: this my hope is laid up in my bosom. (Ibid., 417-20)
